Here in the UK, a couple of years ago, someone invented the term 'yummy mummy', referring to an attractive woman with children. It drives me up the wall, for no real reason. I think it's just the childishness of the term.

That's bad, but not quite as bad as one of my peeves: MILF (Mom I'd like to eff)

A couple of years ago a kid showed up with a sweatshirt that had a picture of a woman pushing a stroller and saying MILF. I told him he couldn't wear it. He was shocked and a little embarrassed. That was better than the responses.I usually got when I caught what kids thought were cleverly disguised drug or gun refrences and made them change or turn their shirts inside out.

As much as lingo drives me up the wall, I have to admit that I lived in the 80s and said all kinds of horrible phrases so I can't really blame kids these days.

Though when someone my age (30+) uses some new phrase and tries to pretend that it makes them cute, hip and young it makes me want to smack them into adulthood.

*sheepishly raises hand* I do have a tendency to adopt new phrases, but I swear it is just a side effect of loving to mess with language plus the fact that I spend about 4 hours a day talking to teenagers. The latter reason is also why I hate YOLO so much. It's like someone took all the stupidity* that is inherent in youth and distilled it into four letters.

*I would like to emphatically state that young=/= stupid. I am referring to that lack of understanding of consequences that many otherwise lovely and intelligent teenagers suffer from.

It's all in the attitude I guess. I have been known to use "FAIL" myself. I know I probably look pathetic doing it at my age.

I suppose the annoyance comes with a remembrance when I was young and disturbed and teachers would try and talk to me in 80s lingo thinking that they "got" me. I was like, "Um, could you stop trying to be 15? I sort of need an adult in my life right now.

The term "Honey-Do List". For me, it calls to mind a woman handing her husband a mile-long list of things she wants him to do then breezing off to go shopping or whatever while a cowed husband takes care of everything for her.

(Can you tell I highly value my ability to get things done on my own?)

Fracking. As in the f-word substitute used extensively in Battlestar Galactica. Somehow, I’ve come to know a lot of people who use it in real life.

Then again, it made my interpretation of all the "No Fracking" signs found in every other yard in my area of NY really interesting for a while back before the environmental issue became a household term.

(Side note, scrabble as a euphemism has completely overtaken my brain’s first response to that term, so now I have to inwardly snicker every time someone mentions the game—even offline—before remembering that there’s a non-euphemistic definition of the word.)

As much as lingo drives me up the wall, I have to admit that I lived in the 80s and said all kinds of horrible phrases so I can't really blame kids these days.

Though when someone my age (30+) uses some new phrase and tries to pretend that it makes them cute, hip and young it makes me want to smack them into adulthood.

*sheepishly raises hand* I do have a tendency to adopt new phrases, but I swear it is just a side effect of loving to mess with language plus the fact that I spend about 4 hours a day talking to teenagers. The latter reason is also why I hate YOLO so much. It's like someone took all the stupidity* that is inherent in youth and distilled it into four letters.

*I would like to emphatically state that young=/= stupid. I am referring to that lack of understanding of consequences that many otherwise lovely and intelligent teenagers suffer from.

It's all in the attitude I guess. I have been known to use "FAIL" myself. I know I probably look pathetic doing it at my age.

I suppose the annoyance comes with a remembrance when I was young and disturbed and teachers would try and talk to me in 80s lingo thinking that they "got" me. I was like, "Um, could you stop trying to be 15? I sort of need an adult in my life right now.

That annoys me too. Adults exist for a reason , and it's not to be a teenager's "bud".

I'm about the polar opposite to that. I'm approximately the same age as my students' mothers, so a well placed "Whatev-er" or "Cool story, bro" can have them rolling in the aisles It's great for defusing tense situations or lightening up a frustrating lesson.

I've seen the 50 Shades one and think that's worse than the backrub one. I once made the mistake of looking at the wall of baby onesies in a Spencer's. Talk about tacky! Not that I should be surprised, I know. I don't think there's a t-shirt in there that isn't tacky.

One example: Daddy used to get some till I came along. Niiiice.

Logged

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata